Latest Motorsports News (Week 5 January 2018)

Alonso ready for Le Mans experience despite a poor showing

Fernando Alonso had anunceremonious sportscar debut after finishing 38th overall. However, that did not deter his newly found ambition and he feels he is 60-40 ready on pursuing his Daytona antics after a week earlier he was having a 50-50 thought. His pursuit for Le Mans hasn’t hit strides, but the Daytona rumble has certainly boosted his confidence and a zeal for more. Alonso revealed his experiences and said that many things have changed like the drivers, the communication, the right amount of rest needed between the stints and more.

Taking positives from his Daytona drive, Alonso said that he will adapt to racing in a closed prototype car, how the traffic is going to be and what is a safety car. He also added that he has learned a lot in the span of last 24 hours. He hinted at taking another shot at the Daytona American Endurance Classic next year. Alonso’s interest may turn into reality as he expects his January schedule would be empty and he can adjust himself for the iconic race once again.

Toto Wolff and Mercedes has had a good year in terms of market and racing while his number one rival Sergio Marchionne and his Ferrari had one of their worse runs in modern times. Marchionne didn’t cut Toto any slack and criticised their reliability issues, and took a dig at Kimi Raikkonen by calling him a ‘laggard’. On the other hand, Toto didn’t take the rough road and answered diplomatically when asked about Ferrari’s struggles. Toto said that Sergio’s iron fist management shouldn’t be treated as the only reason for their struggle.

However, Toto made a subtle remark when he said that pressure can create a diamond, but too much of it can destroy it. Comparing Ferrari’s current state to Mercedes, Toto feels that they have created a better environment within the team and refrained from the blame culture. Toto also added that Mercedes has a motto, and everybody abides by it; “see it, say it, fix it”.

Kumpen becomes the first NASCAR Whelan Driver to pen down a deal with Monster Energy

Monster Energy will now sponsor their first and most popular overseas driver Anthony Kumpen. The Belgian is already a NASCAR Whelen Euro series legend and bagged two championships under his name. Kumpen was all praise when asked about his new sponsor and said that he will be endorsing a super cool brand and has a unique character that resembles him. NWES CEO Jerome Galpin sees this as roots that will be growing throughout the Europe in the future.